3076 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2011 / Notices 

1The risk analysis (with confidential business 

information removed) and the EA may be viewed 

on Regulations.gov (see ADDRESSES above for a link 

to Regulations.gov). 

quality of the human environment. 

Based on the risk analysis, we have 

reached a preliminary determination 

that field testing this veterinary vaccine 

will not have a significant impact on the 

quality of the human environment, and 

that an environmental impact statement 

need not be prepared. We intend to 

authorize shipment of this vaccine for 

field testing following the close of the 

comment period for this notice unless 

new substantial issues bearing on the 

effects of this action are brought to our 

attention. We also intend to issue a U.S. 

Veterinary Biological Product license for 

this vaccine, provided the field test data 

support the conclusions of the 

environmental assessment and the 

issuance of a finding of no significant 

impact and the product meets all other 

requirements for licensing. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before February 

18, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS– 

2010–0126 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send one copy of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2010–0126, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2010–0126. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on this 

docket in our reading room. The reading 

room is located in room 1141 of the 

USDA South Building, 14th Street and 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 690–2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Albert P. Morgan, Section Leader, 

Operational Support Section, Center for 

Veterinary Biologics, Policy, Evaluation, 

and Licensing, VS, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 148, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; phone (301) 734–8245, fax (301) 

734–4314. 

For information regarding the 

environmental assessment or the risk 

analysis, or to request a copy of the 

environmental assessment (as well as 

the risk analysis with confidential 

business information removed), contact 

Dr. Patricia L. Foley, Risk Manager, 

Center for Veterinary Biologics, Policy, 

Evaluation, and Licensing, VS, APHIS, 

1920 Dayton Avenue, P.O. Box 844, 

Ames, IA 50010; phone (515) 337–6100, 

fax (515) 337–6120. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Virus-Serum-Toxin Act (21 U.S.C. 151 

et seq.), a veterinary biological product 

must be shown to be pure, safe, potent, 

and efficacious before a veterinary 

biological product license may be 

issued. A field test is generally 

necessary to satisfy prelicensing 

requirements for veterinary biological 

products. Prior to conducting a field test 

on an unlicensed product, an applicant 

must obtain approval from the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS), as well as obtain APHIS’ 

authorization to ship the product for 

field testing. 

To determine whether to authorize 

shipment and grant approval for the 

field testing of the unlicensed product 

referenced in this notice, a risk analysis 

was prepared to assess the potential 

effects of this product on the safety of 

animals, public health, and the 

environment. Based on the risk analysis, 

APHIS has prepared an environmental 

assessment (EA) 1 concerning the field 

testing of the following unlicensed 

veterinary biological product: 

Requester: Merial, Inc. 

Product: Feline Leukemia Vaccine, 

Live Canarypox Vector. 

Field Test Locations: Alabama, 

California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, 

and Tennessee. 

The above-mentioned product 

consists of a live recombinant 

canarypox vector expressing certain 

feline leukemia virus proteins. The 

vaccine is for use in healthy cats at 8 

weeks of age or older as an aid in the 

prevention of disease due to feline 

leukemia virus. 

The EA has been prepared in 

accordance with: (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

Unless substantial issues with adverse 

environmental impacts are raised in 

response to this notice, APHIS intends 

to issue a finding of no significant 

impact (FONSI) based on the EA and 

authorize shipment of the above product 

for the initiation of field tests following 

the close of the comment period for this 

notice. 

Because the issues raised by field 

testing and by issuance of a license are 

identical, APHIS has concluded that the 

EA that is generated for field testing 

would also be applicable to the 

proposed licensing action. Provided that 

the field test data support the 

conclusions of the original EA and the 

issuance of a FONSI, APHIS does not 

intend to issue a separate EA and FONSI 

to support the issuance of the product 

license, and would determine that an 

environmental impact statement need 

not be prepared. APHIS intends to issue 

a veterinary biological product license 

for this vaccine following completion of 

the field test provided no adverse 

impacts on the human environment are 

identified and provided the product 

meets all other requirements for 

licensing. 

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 151–159. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of 

January 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–980 Filed 1–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0115] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for a Biological Control 

Agent for Air Potato 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA) relative 

to the control of air potato (Dioscorea 

bulbifera). The EA considers the effects 

of, and alternatives to, the release of an 

insect, Lilioceris cheni, into the 

continental United States for use as a 

biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of air potato infestations. We 

are making the EA available to the 

public for review and comment. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2011 / Notices 3077 

1The Treatment Manual is available on the 

Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

import_export/plants/manuals/index.shtml or by 

contacting the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Manuals 

Unit, 92 Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite 200, 

Frederick, MD 21702. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before February 

18, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/

component/main?main=DocketDetail&

d=APHIS-2010-0115 to submit or view 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials available 

electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send one copy of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2010–0115, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2010–0115. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on the 

environmental assessment in our 

reading room. The reading room is 

located in Room 1141 of the USDA 

South Building, 14th Street and 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 690–2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Shirley Wager-Page, Chief, Pest 

Permitting Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1237; (301) 734–8453. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 

to issue permits for the release of an 

insect, Lilioceris cheni, into the 

continental United States for use as a 

biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of air potato (Dioscorea 

bulbifera) infestations. 

Air potato is a twining vine that can 

grow 65 feet long or greater, capable of 

climbing and out-competing native 

vegetation. Air potato was introduced in 

Florida in 1905 and has since become 

one of the most aggressive weeds in that 

State. In 1999, the Florida Department 

of Agricultural and Consumer Services 

added air potato to its list of noxious 

weeds in an attempt to protect the 

State’s native plant species from being 

displaced or hybridized. Presently, the 

air potato is well established in Florida 

and probably throughout the Gulf States 

where it has the potential to severely 

disrupt entire ecosystems. 

Existing air potato management 

options, which include chemical and 

mechanical control methods, are 

ineffective, expensive, temporary, or 

have non-target impacts. Thus, a permit 

application has been submitted to 

APHIS for the purpose of releasing an 

insect, L. cheni, into the continental 

United States for use as a biological 

control agent to reduce the severity of 

air potato infestations. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

proposed action are documented in 

detail in an environmental assessment 

(EA) titled ‘‘Field Release of Lilioceris 

cheni Gressit & Kimoto (Coleoptera: 

Chrysomelidae) for Biological Control of 

Air Potato, Dioscorea bulbifera 

(Dioscoreaceae), in the Continental 

United States’’ (September 2010). We are 

making the EA available to the public 

for review and comment. We will 

consider all comments that we receive 

on or before the date listed under the 

heading DATES at the beginning of this 

notice. 

The EA may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room). 

You may request paper copies of the EA 

by calling or writing to the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the 

EA when requesting copies. 

The EA has been prepared in 

accordance with: (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of 

January 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–981 Filed 1–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0059] 

Notice of Decision To Revise a Heat 

Treatment Schedule for Emerald Ash 

Borer 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our decision to revise a heat treatment 

schedule for the emerald ash borer in 

the Plant Protection and Quarantine 

Treatment Manual and to retain the 

current treatment schedule with a 

different treatment number. Based on 

the findings of a treatment evaluation 

document, which we made available to 

the public for review and comment 

through a previous notice, we believe 

that the revised treatment schedule will 

be sufficient to treat emerald ash borer. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 19, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Inder P. S. Gadh, Senior Risk Manager– 

Treatments, Regulations, Permits, and 

Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737–1236; 

(301) 734–8758. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 7 CFR chapter III 

are intended, among other things, to 

prevent the introduction or 

dissemination of plant pests and 

noxious weeds into or within the United 

States. Under the regulations, certain 

plants, fruits, vegetables, and other 

articles must be treated before they may 

be moved into the United States or 

interstate. The phytosanitary treatments 

regulations contained in part 305 of 7 

CFR chapter III (referred to below as the 

regulations) set out standards for 

treatments required in parts 301, 318, 

and 319 of 7 CFR chapter III for fruits, 

vegetables, and other articles. 

In § 305.2, paragraph (b) states that 

approved treatment schedules are set 

out in the Plant Protection and 

Quarantine (PPQ) Treatment Manual.1

Section 305.3 sets out a process for 

adding, revising, or removing treatment 

schedules in the PPQ Treatment 

Manual. In that section, paragraph (a) 

sets out the process for adding, revising, 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES